Machinists Local S7 Fought to Provide Workplace Protections for Maine Veterans

In the summer of 2019, IAM Local S7 President Jessica Chubbuck-Goodwin received a message from a new Bath Iron Works employee who was in desperate situation. A recent military veteran, the worker had been awarded a service-related disability and was “swamped” with VA appointments to treat his medical conditions. 

As he noted in his letter, the VA is very strict that veterans must make it to these appointments or they risk losing their benefits and health care. But even though he had informed the hiring manager about his situation, his 53 hours of leave time had quickly dwindled to just twelve hours due to the appointments.

“All this time has been used on appointments and I’m afraid that if I can’t get some type of benefit for relief I am going to have to resign from my job,” he wrote.

Fortunately, Chubbuck-Goodwin had great news for the young veteran. Local S7 and the Maine AFL-CIO had recently fought a three-year battle in the Maine Legislature to pass the “Veteran Friendly Workplace Act” and finally passed it earlier that spring. Under the law, employers must excuse employees for VA appointments as long as management is notified in advance.

“He was unaware that this law existed, so I worked with him and sent his information to the company so he could get the time off,” said Chubbuck-Goodwin. “Actually, that pushed the company to change their policy on how they handle VA appointments, which was great.”

IAM Local S7’s Veterans Committee and Safety Committee has worked for many years on accommodating veteran members with service-related health conditions. Shop stewards are trained to recognize the symptoms of mental illness like post-traumatic stress disorder and how to interact during certain situations. Chubbuck-Goodwin recalled helping one member with severe PTSD and medical issues secure leave for extended treatment.

“This person is a huge success story because they went out for four to six months to get the help that they needed and they’ve come back and have been the absolute best employee ever since,” she said.

Currently, IAM S7 is also considering pushing for legislation that would ensure workers who draw down family leave benefits when they are injured are also able to have enough family leave time for serious illnesses, medical operations and giving birth. She says it’s very important for members to know about the worker protections their unions fought for so they understand the power of collective action and don’t take these benefits for granted.

“We should be promoting this policy a little more and educating our newer members that they have this benefit because the union fought for it,” she said. “It wasn’t just Local 7 though; the whole labor movement in Maine lobbied to get this through.”